This requires a little explanation. Another Friday Flash Fiction writer, North Carolinan Russell Conover, had posted a little story about Ted the Turtle who wished he could fly. This isn't a follow-on, it's free-standing, but Russell deserves credit for the original idea.

Although content as a slow turtle, Ted still dreamed of flying. One day, he found an old oil lamp, and deciding that ‘nothing ventured, nothing gained’, rubbed it. Out popped a Genie.

“I’ll grant you one wish, Turtle. One wish only.”

“I wish I could fly, thanks.”

One puff of smoke later, the Genie vanished. Waving his legs, Ted took off, slowly banking and weaving across the fields – magical.

Then: gunfire. Suddenly he realised that slow-moving flying turtles are indistinguishable from clay pigeons. He desperately hoped that the shotgun party were poor shots.

He heard an echo. “One wish only...”

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Flash Fiction

﻿﻿Flash fiction is very, very short fiction indeed - short stories of any sort of length from a Haiku to ten minutes' reading. Good for when you're in a hurry. This series is a selection of contributions to Friday Flash Fiction, where there's a limit of 100 words. I try to make all mine exactly 100 words.﻿﻿